JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa-conceived and London-listed Randgold Resources said on Tuesday that it was commencing a global offering of five-million new ordinary shares and reported a 45% rise in profits for the quarter to June 30.

The Randgold share offer announcement follows its proposal to buy Moto Goldmines, and this week's declaration that its bid is “superior” to that of rival Moto suitor, Red Back Mining.

“Randgold has at last bitten the bullet and started using its very highly rated paper to make acquisitions,” Evolution Securities mining analyst Charles Kernot noted in reference to the bid for Moto, which has a large gold resource in the high-risk north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In the quarter, attributable gold production of 121 685 oz was up 10% quarter-on-quarter; the Morila mine in Mali morphed into a stockpile-treatment operation; the new Tongon development in the Côte d’Ivoire was on track for production of gold in the fourth quarter of 2010; a prefeasibility study is in sight at the Massawa prospect in Senegal; the high-grade Gounkoto in Mali progressed to a scoping study on completion of initial phase of drilling; and Loulo, also in Mali, showed potential for an additional near-surface resource. Profit for the quarter rose to $18,9-million.

Should it enter into a definitive agreement to acquire Moto, some of the proceeds of the offer could be used to fund the development of Moto’s large gold project in the DRC.

On the closing of the proposed Randgold transaction, AngloGold Ashanti, which has twinned with Randgold on the Moto deal, said that it would acquire an indirect 50% interest in Moto for $244-million in cash, plus a 50% share in other transaction related liabilities and expenses.

Nonexecutive chairperson Philippe Lietard said that Randgold was clearly on its way into the premier league of the gold-mining industry.

CEO Dr Mark Bristow said that it was time for Randgold to enter the DRC following its vocal interest in Moto.

“The driver for us, is that organic growth is the real creator of value. Merger and acquisition activity works when there is opportunity to create that value and when there is very significant strategic leverage in a transaction, and we think that Moto offers both,” Bristow said.

“People constantly say that Randgold is overvalued but if you look at our growth pipeline, we are always unwinding that value as we deliver more organic growth potential,” Bristow said.

TSX- and Aim-listed Moto Goldmines confirmed on Monday that Randgold’s buyout plan represented a “superior” transaction to that of Red Back, which it gave until midnight on August 4 to sweeten its offer beyond Randgold’s $4,47 cash for each Moto share or 0,07061 of a Randgold share for each Moto share.

Randgold said that the HSBC Bank was acting as the financial adviser, sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner and joint underwriter with Merrill Lynch International on the share offer.